The Cursed Kimono
by WeAllFlyHigh
Summary: The haunting tale of tragic love, greed, and death that gave both The Land of Fire and The Village Hidden in the Leaves their names. Based on a traditional Japanese ghost story. Happy Halloween.


This is the re-telling of an old Japanese ghost story in honor of Halloween. It's one of my favorite ghost stories from Japan. Anyways, since it's an old story I decided to make my wording a bit different than it normally is. If you want to hear the original ghost story type the Cursed Kimono into YouTubes' search bar and it's the first one that comes up (to eliminate any doubts you have the user is RoninDave).

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (Which really is a good thing because I would make some serious changes and it would be mistaken of being a shojo manga that has lots of fighting.)

Long ago before, the Land of Fire got its name there was a young maiden who lived in a large village built on trade and religion. Now this young maiden was a beauty; her golden blonde hair shimmered down to her waist, her pale skin was soft to the touch, and her soft blue eyes could hold many men captive. Although many men came to declare their love her she had never felt the draw of love towards them.

However one day as she worked in her family's' shop her eyes landed on a young shinobi. This young man stole the girls' breath from her lungs; she had never seen such a beautiful person. His dark hair gleamed a midnight blue, his pale skin shone, and his eyes were deep pools of black from which she could not escape from.

Her feet moved of their own accord toward him. As she got closer she drank in more of his image. How his expensive clothes clung to his body, the way his hair caressed and framed his face, the sharpness of his chin, the curve of his nose, and finally the smirk upon his full lips were burned into her soul. Then he was gone, swallowed by the crowd. She stopped in the middle of the street oblivious to the traffic and frantically searched for him. She was desperate to ask his name and to hear his voice. Her search proved to be pointless but she vowed that she would see him again.

She returned to her home with the memory of him playing nonstop throughout the day. The more days passed the more she craved to see him again but he never appeared. Finally when she could no longer bear to just sit and watch for him she decided to take the only option that may take her to him. For weeks she slaved over the creation of a beautiful furisode*.

The kimono was patterned after the mysterious shinobis' clothing. She even embroidered the red and white uchiwa on the back and made sure that the kimono was as flattering as it could be. After she had declared the kimono finished she wore it the next day. Every day that she wore the kimono she received many compliments but none of them lightened her heart because no one had seen or even heard of the shinobi.

As the days went by she grew more and more desperate to see the shinobi. As her desperation built she grew more and more depressed. As her depression worsened she wore the kimono more and more often. It wasn't long until the girl refused to take the kimono off. But in time her family did succeed in removing it from her but only because the girl was too weak to fight them off.

Her family brought in many different types of doctors to try and heal her but their efforts were futile. Before their eyes their daughter wasted away into the next world.

The custom back then was to give something of recently departed to the local temple as an offering for the temples prayers and so her family offered the kimono. The head monk of temple could easily see, even with his one eye, that the kimono was worth something and the temple needed money. So when a group of travelers were visiting he sold the kimono to them.

This family then gave the kimono to their only daughter. She wore it only once before she fell ill. As the days passed and her condition grew worse she told her brothers of the man who watched her at night.

She said that he never entered her room but he stood in the door way smirking at her. The two brothers were outraged that a stranger had been sneaking into their sisters' room and disturbing her. They demanded to know what he looked like and wearily she told them. She described him as being tall, with hair as dark as midnight, and pale skin but she could not see his eyes. The brothers prowled the halls at night looking for this man but they never found him or anyone else for that matter. Still their sister claimed he watched her.

One day she said that the handsome man had entered her room and before that day had ended the girls soul had departed.

Her brothers went to the temple from which they had purchased the kimono, gave it back and quickly departed from the village. The temple once again saw that the kimono was still in prime condition and knew that it would once more fetch a high price. So they sold it once more.

The family that had purchased it had only one child; a beautiful girl whom they adored. This girl was extremely pleased once she saw the kimono that her parents had gotten her. She recognized it at as being the one that her old best friend had made and since she still grieved for her the kimono was a soothing sight.

However, this girl too only wore the kimono once before she fell ill.

As her condition worsened just as the two before had, she too saw a handsome man. He first appeared in her door way, then just inside her room, and then by her bedside. He sat by her as her body wasted away with his midnight hair falling into his eyes, hiding them from her.

She asked him who he was. She asked if he was the shinobi her friend had talked about before her death. She asked what he was. She asked him if he was still human or if he had ever been one. She asked if he was a demon. His only reply was to smirk down at her.

On her final night he appeared at her side as always. Her green eyes now dulled by her sickness stared up at him with one final question lurking in their depths. "Am I going to die?"He replied as he always had with a smirk. But he then lifted his head.

His blood red eyes were the last thing she ever saw.

Her grieving family like those before them returned the kimono to the temple. This time however, the head monk gave more thought to the kimono than just that of the price it would fetch.

The deaths of three girls were linked to this kimono. So the monk decided that it was cursed. Obviously this meant that the kimono was a threat and all threats had to be eliminated.

He brought the kimono out into the temples' courtyard where a fire was waiting to burn it. Yet when he placed the kimono on the fire it leaped up and across the courtyard out the temples' gate and into the village, taking the fire with it. The flames spread quickly consuming much property and many lives. Only with great effort was the fire extinguished by the brave shinobi of a village hidden in nearby forest.

Although many have forgotten the cause of this fire it is the reason that this land is called the Land of Fire and this village is the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

So let this be a lesson to all of you, young women. Do not foolishly fall for unknown man however handsome he may be. Because some say that the first maiden did not see a shinobi that day but a demon hungry for the power stolen lives would give him.

Tendrils of smoke curled toward the ceiling of the darkened bedroom. "H-how was I?" Hinata gently set her candle, the first candle of the night, on the floor.

"That was great, Hinata," Tenten smiled broadly at the girl sitting beside her.

"That was creepy." Ino remarked from Tenten's other side before Sakura smacked her gently, that is gently for Sakura.

"You're not really that scared are you?" Temari smirked from her reclined position on the pillows. She pulled the next candle toward her and grinned down at it. "We just started and it's my turn."

Authors Note:

*A furisode is a formal kimono traditionally worn by young single women. Its sleeves are often very long almost reaching the girls' knees. They are normally elaborate and are either embroidered or hand painted.

Now a few words on the story and the game the girls were playing.

1) If you listened to the original version you know I added to it. Partly to make it into a fanfiction ghost story, not just a ghost story, and partly because I got carried away.

2)Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai or A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales was a popular game in Japan during the Edo period; this is what the girls are playing. Here's how you play: One hundred candles are lit and after each story is told one candle is blown out. Once the final candle is blown out a spirit is summoned. If you want to know more, go Google it.

3) Just in case you didn't figure out whom everyone was; Ino was the first girl who made the kimono (it kind of fits her), Temari was the second, and Sakura was the last. Also Danzo was the head monk and Sasuke was the shinobi/demon (A fitting role for him too, especially 'cause all those girls did show an interest in him, its canon. [I never seem to do much canon.])

I originally was going to give each girl (that was killed in the story) her own chapter but I'm glad I didn't. However I might make more of these ghost stories and call them a continuation of this one but they all will be separate. If you're interested tell me.

4) I'm so glad I previewed this before posting. If I hadn't you would have read an unfinished chapter of the Hidden Ninja Files. I'm still working on that by the way and my muse has finally returned!


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